School life: at home in a boarding house

Once you get used to the mess – and it’s amazing how quickly the mess can seem
‘normal’ – being on duty in a boarding house ceases to be a chore, says Boarding
School Beak.

It can take time to get used to the untidiness that boarders seem to relish. They don’t seem bothered by the fact that the clothes their mothers have carefully folded, are strewn carelessly on study floors.Photo: Vibe Images / Alamy

A crucial part of a boarding beak’s job is being on duty in a boarding house once a week. Anyone unfamiliar with boarding can find this difficult to fathom: "What do you do exactly? All those teenagers? It sounds awful."

And it can indeed take time to get used to the untidiness boarders seem to relish. They don’t seem bothered by the fact there may be empty pizza boxes everywhere – or that the clothes their mothers have carefully folded, are strewn carelessly on study floors. Nor do they seem to mind wet, muddy sports kit stewing on radiators.

Then there are the posters they love to put on their walls. We beaks do our best to keep them decent – the rule is, nothing that will offend Mum or the cleaners – but it can be an uphill task.

In boys’ houses (for obvious reasons boarding houses are rarely ‘mixed’) you can expect to see plenty of Chelsea FC and Cheryl Cole. But at least the football teams they support can spark topics for conversation.

One morning, you could be teaching a boy about Shakespeare; that same evening, you could be discussing his team’s progress in the Champions League.

Once you get used to the mess – and it’s amazing how quickly a boarding house can seem ‘normal’ – these evening duties cease to be a chore and become quite pleasant.

Boarders are used to seeing different adults around the house and are invariably welcoming. Gone are the days of ‘no go’ areas, where few adults dared step into. Huge ‘dorms’ are a thing of the past too: most boarders now have their own study-bedrooms.

The most important task is making sure they’re working hard in ‘prep’ (‘homework’ to non-boarders). This means no loud music ("How loud is ‘loud’, Sir?") and no shouting down corridors.

Carefully supervised prep each evening is one of boarding’s sacrosanct rituals. And with lots of well informed adults about, pupils get help and advice not only with essays, but with other relevant topics, like careers and university applications.

Once this serious part of the evening is over, it’s a chance to chat informally to teenagers on their home turf. And not necessarily about work either.

Both parties benefit. You see another side of students outside the classroom: their prowess at rugby, their electric guitar-playing skills, their passion for art. They see another, hopefully more human, side of you.

This can be particularly helpful when it comes to dealing with difficult pupils. Teenagers thrive on praise and if they're not good at your subject, as a teacher, you can find yourself constantly criticising them.

Yet on home territory, they’re more relaxed – and there’s none of that ‘them and us’ posturing of the classroom. Most teenagers are far more natural and forthcoming without the distractions of the opposite sex to play up to as well.

A night in the boarding house certainly helps to build bridges. It makes pupils and beaks feel much more at home with each other. But I still don’t miss all that clutter when I go home at the end of the evening.